Motorola in talks with media agencies

Published on January 10, 2001.

Motorola currently is talking to three media agencies about handling its media planning and buying duties, according to a company spokeswoman. The agencies are WPP Group's MindShare, Interpublic Group of Cos.' Initiative Media and incumbent Universal McCann, the media arm of McCann-Erickson. Last year, Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., awarded its estimated $400 million global advertising account to Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, another WPP shop. At that time, Motorola also indicated it was talking to media agencies.

One agency executive involved in the process said that it was not a full-blown review. "At this point, we've simply been having discussions." A spokesman at McCann-Erickson said Universal McCann currently handles media duties for Motorola but added that the billings were considerably less than $400 million. The Motorola spokeswoman said that the company would decide who will handle its media buying and planning by late February or early March.